If you are new to buying or selling St. John clothing, you might not understand all of the "lingo" used in ebay listings.  Also, St. John labels can tell you a lot about the item you are buying or listing.  Here are some examples:

"Griffith/Gray" - While most of the clothes with the St. John label are knits, Griffith/Gray was a line (now out of use) used for fairly tailored clothes that are not knits. 

"St. John Sport" - This label is used for a lesser line of St. John clothes.  The Sport line often had the same colors and even styles, in lighter weight knits.  They retailed for substantially less than the other St. John lines of knits.

"St. John Couture" - This label is currently in use for a more upscale line.  The jackets are often lined with wonderful silk fabrics.  There are often more embellishments on the suits.  They also run a little smaller than the other lines.  They are the most expensive of the current St. John lines.

"St. John Collection" - This is the standard label in use for knit suits and coordinating pieces.

"St. John Evening" - This is the standard label in use for knit suits and coordinating pieces which have rhinestone buttons and other closures, paillettes (little pieces of metal which are permanently attached to the knits), beading, embroidering, etc. for dress-up.

"St. John Basics" - This is a label used for black, navy blue and "bright white" (but really an off-white) pieces that can be mixed and matched from season to season.  Beware, however, of matching white pieces.  The color often changes slightly in sun and drycleaning, and pieces that were not purchased at the same time and dry cleaned together do not always end up the same exact color.  Black and navy will match even from different eras.

Other labels:  St. John Sportwear and St. John Separates have been used from time to time as part of the St. John regular knit line.

"Santana knit" - is used to describe the knit most often used in St. John knits.  It is made from an 80% wool, 20% rayon twisted yarn, into a "stockinette" stitch. 

"Novelty knit" - is used to describe any knit which is not "santana."  It generally runs a little smaller and cannot be blocked as much as santana.

"St. John color" - this means the color on the paper tag.  St. John has names for its colors, so that pieces can be matched.  Black, navy and "bright white" are in constant use.  But other colors change every year and are given new names.  For example, royal blues may be:  "Sapphire,"  "Imperial blue," "Empire blue," etc. to denote the royal blue for that year.  Knowing the exact color name can help you match pieces.

SEE ST. JOHN LINGO & LABELS, PART II FOR MORE INFORMATION!